Shin Megami Tensei: Morte Non Serviam
by Keijiro Mishima
Summary: They are not heroes, they are the greater evil. The world isn't coming to an end, it's starting anew. The Seven fight the inferno not to save the world, but to keep all that they hold as their own. There is no Wild Card, only Sin. An Original SMT
1. A Royal Decree Prologue

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_You do not know that all you have built shall rot and decay, your gloried spires shall crumble. Your world shall whither away._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_As your empires crumble, your sustenance shall become thin. The planet shall no longer provide to you, plenty shall fade._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_With no empires to stand, and little life left in the Earth. You shall rise up and take arms against your own. The blood of your kin is spewed forth._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_You shall dwindle away, ever so slowly into the corruption of yourselves. The world turned against you, there is no escape, only the cold embrace._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_But do not fear, your tears shall fill the lakes and your blood will revive the world. I shall bring seven under me to save you._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_I pity you... poor humanity. I brought forth the resurrection of your paradise, and I ask for one thing in return._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_You shall erect your spires once again under my name. I shall be the head of your empires, your blades shall be held in my hand. You will live for me._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_I am the true Savior of humanity. I will show you the darkness, and you shall find comfort in the Inferno._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

_This is not a promise nor a prophecy. This is a Royal Decree._

_I pity them. I pity you... poor humanity._

* * *

"I'm not asking you whether you want anymore or not. I'm telling you to take it and pay up or you'll pay anyways from your grave for our troubles and we'll find another..."

This is the the city of Megiddo, Japan. Built from the ground up by the Testament Corporation, it serves as a revolution to urban life. A Prototype for the Testament Corporation's newest plan, the reconstruction of the world for the better of its inhabitants. The president of the Company, Dante Cypher, had Megiddo become the base of operations for the Testament Corporation, transferring it from America. It was officially announced to the world and placed on a map not long ago, but it already became a metropolis of sorts as people from Japan and foreign nations flocked to Megiddo for countless reasons. Some came to Megiddo seeking adventure and a new lifestyle, while others came to escape their past and start anew.

Megiddo was divided into five regions after its rapid expansion from the sudden population increase. The East Harbor district borders the Pacific Ocean and was the first of the four districts to ever be established. Along with the Testament Corporation, the area is widely known as the turf of the Mishima Yakuza, a group that the Testament Corporation handles with the utmost extreme caution. Opposite of the Harbor District is the West Noble Estates, bluntly known as the Rich District. This is where most of the lead Testament Corp. staff reside and other financially advanced residents.

"Listen, punk. I don't care who the fuck your dad is, I ain't taking shit from you. I'm on the fucking suspect black-list and I'm not getting popped for shit I don't want!"

On the Northern end of Megiddo is the Northern Home District, or better known as Commons. It's similar to an average housing complex, homes to the unexceptional but able to live happily and survive with more than needed. But in a city like Megiddo where everything is at the peak of glory, the southern district is the lone exception. It's called the Industrial District, but all know its true nature. The Industrial District is only half factory and business, the rest is known as 'affordable' housing. Unless one had connections to the Mishima, any crime above a certain standard resulted in direct placement within the Industrial District after imprisonment. A law that was established by Dante Cypher so he could withhold order in his city.

"Fine then, your dead!"

But the fifth and most amazing of the district is the one that was claimed as Testament Territory. In the center of the city, bordered by the other four districts, is the Testament Headquarters. It's design is similar to a castle made of glass, a beauty to behold at a distance and the inside is like standing in the center of the worlds government. Not too far from the Headquarters is one of the key reasons why the world came to this one city, a high school. But this wasn't an average high school, it was ranked on the same scale as the renowned Gekkoukan High, and like Gekkoukan, its support from Testament give it limitless possibilities. The student body consisted of students from across the world, with multiple backgrounds, and different goals in life.

"Everyone on the ground!"

But at this very moment, the world was beginning to change. Something was beginning to manifest itself in ways that will tear the world apart, then piece it back together. It will work in the shadows, altering destinies behind the backs of many and only a few will have the ability to stand against it. They are not the forces of good, they don't believe in a greater cause, nor do they care much for the fate of those around them. The line that divided good and evil has been erased after being crossed countless times, the heroes no longer follow the righteous path. The seven will have to do more than be heroes, they will have to become a greater evil than the enemy that challenges the things they wish to obtain.

There is no one hero, nothing similar to a wild card in a story of evil bringing itself down. There are seven 'Corrupted' and they have no ties between them. This sin begins in the Harbor District of Megiddo, on official Mishima business.


	2. The Corrupted

This is the beginning of the story of Keijiro Mishima, a seventeen year old Yakuza "prince". Unknown to him, is that the entire world will shift from his criminal position, into that of a being that wanders the dark realm in search of the truth. But at this moment, he stands in a crouched position pressing upwards to deliver a bone shattering blow into the ribs of an unfortunate participant of a Mishima deal gone awry. For the stunned dealer who was attempting to turn down an offer for a load of weaponry, he knew that it would be his final days.

Perfectly organized and calm, the Megiddo police force barged in through the doors of the warehouse. They had all targets sighted on the two individuals, and they also knew that they were dealing with Mishima business which meant they'd be in a heavy gun fight soon. Clad in bullet-proof armor designed by the Testament Corp., they spread out blocking the front section of the building. Keith, an American, was the unfortunate participant of a ruined deal and a victim to one of Keijiro's attacks. He felt his breath leaving his lungs and the splintering of multiple ribs as the fist connected with his lungs.

"Don't fuck with Mishima..." Keijiro growled into his ear as he fell to the floor in pain. It was one thing to turn down Mishima business, that would've ended the situation with a few shattered bones for Keith. But he had made the mistake of having the police arrive, which would end in the silencing of all potential leaks. Which meant, he was going to die...

Keijiro was a physically exceptional person, most learned this fact by being dealt shattering blows with little chance to survive. His stance in the Yakuza forced him to be ruthless, merciless, and perfect in their eyes as he held a high position at such a young age. So when it would be written in the reports that the Mishima representative dashed forward, leapt off of an empty metal object, and athletically vaulted over the rail with only momentum as his support, avoiding all thirty-plus shots fired by a force of seven officers , there would be no argument.

But it was in that short time it took for him to reach the second catwalk and crash through the window of a small office room within the warehouse, that he was able to draw a Beretta 92FS which is standard U.S. military equipment. He ducked downwards for a quick moment to avoid all shots that were continued to be fired. It was a Mishima rule to silence all leaks, which meant the injured Keith on the ground had to go. The black metallic handgun was loaded and waiting for the last bullet to fly through the wood table and lodge itself in the cement walls.

"Stop firing, save the..." A senior officer shouted out as he knew how the Mishima worked. But his entire statement was cut short by a well placed bullet into the American separating his spinal chord and skull. Keith's life ended in surprise as the police barged in on the deal and attempted to capture one of the two criminals but failing to do both. A small pool of blood began to spread from the front of his throat for the bullet went through him and stuck inside of the floor. "Get him!" The Senior switched commands quickly as a leader should in times of need.

This is Keijiro Mishima, the Yakuza prince. A raven haired, ruby eyed, tanned skin, high school student that spends most of his afternoon with the gang. He plays something of a Super-Hero role in reverse, keeping his identity secret before he goes out into the night and commits crimes. Covered by a large leather trench coat which held a second gun and a short saber, his face is hidden by a large hood. The black clothing accompanied by red gloves and lined with golden string was a signature of his own, something few noticed.

With an unseen sinister smile upon his face as he jumped backwards, he crashed through the window and left the sight of the police force. The sudden chill of the cold wind flushed over him as he descended downwards looking into the night sky. It was something of a interpersonal moment for him as the world slowed in his eyes and the noises of lowed into a weak background tone. His mind wandered like every other human being and he began to see the more philosophical take on his world.

'I wonder what it would be like if this was my last moment, like, if there wasn't a truck under me with a leather cushion in the back for me to land on. What if I had actually leaped to death, would this be all I saw before I die. A full moon.' He started to rant in his own mind as he looked directly into the massive rock in the sky. An awkward feeling of comfort and displeasure fused together came over him. 'Nah, fuck that philosophy crap.' he said to his self ending the unusual conversation with no one.

At this point, the Megiddo police force scrambled to capture the Mishima and secure the corpse in a hurry. Two officers lifted Keith's corpse and carried him towards an emergency ambulance which recently arrived after the gunfire, he was dead, they just had to follow procedure with the autopsy and all. The five other officers quickly left and piled into four other vehicles. It was Japanese police code to resort to firearms as a last resort, but in this case. Firearms were considered more or less self-defense as Mishima were known to carry around weapons ranging from handguns to military grade assault rifles in large-scale events which usually involved a rival foreign faction moving in on their territory.

"Don't fire carelessly, there are civvies on the road." The senior shouted from experience of having accidentally injuring a civilian while chasing Mishima. As he slammed close the door of his car, the passenger door slowly opened and the smell of cigarettes suddenly filled the air. The senior knew who had recently arrived instantly and had no questions, he was the best chance of at least stopping the Mishima. "Where were you Matsuda?"

"Let's go..." The second officer said before taking a breath of smoke and releasing it into the air outside the window. His nonchalant tone and bored voice made it seemed like he didn't care whether the Mishima were apprehended or not, he's just doing his job. But this second officer named Matsuda, a scraggly unshaven man with a dreaded look of boredom in his eyes, his story is for another time. All that is needed to be known about him is that like Keijiro, they will both soon become 'Corrupted'. "I'm getting tired of chasing the same guy every week."

The car shot off from its position going from zero to a sudden eighty in a few seconds. It didn't take long for the pursuit to begin down a bridge as soon as they found the three speeding down the empty bridge. Keijiro raised his wristwatch and checked the time, they could be on the run for hours if things didn't go well. He leaned back and stretched out relaxing in the leather comfort which he had put in directly before the meeting with the American. This was usually the worst part of the job, the boring chases which some saw as 'exciting highway chases' which never made much of a difference to him. Personally, every chance he had to take shots at the pursuers, the better.

He closed his eyes ignoring all the mayhem around him and tried to doze off. But a burning sensation in his mind kept him awake, it was like something that refused to die, it didn't want to sleep. The sounds around him died away and left him trapped behind his own eyes. It was a dream, or at least, he thinks it is. He hoped it is.

These kind of things were normal, the chases across the roads at high speeds. If things got to heated, Keijiro usually whipped out a random rapid-fire weapon that was handed back to him and put holes in everything. But at this moment, everything was going according to a very easy schedule, which was in all sense of the word, boring. So Keijiro drifted away into a light sleep, and something appeared before him. For some reason, he felt this thing before him was like looking into a mirror. It gave off his own presence and held his own attitude.

This thing that stood in front of him resembled a humanoid-raptor with extended arms. It's red eyes resembled his own with an ominous glow that pierced into his ruby pupils. It was a giant in height, and its metallic claws reflected the non-existent light in the darkness. The monster had a tall and thin body with neon red lines, but everything besides that was enshrouded in darkness. He could see the outline of its raptor and human hybrid of a skull, like its claws, metallic teeth glistened with an unnatural shine.

"Show them...Pain." It growled. The sheer volume of its voice shook Keijiro's insides as he felt his self speak the words. It was confusing, hearing your own words through the voice of a being before you. He couldn't move, something inside him didn't want to move either. Its claws scratched against each other and its gaping jaw snapped shut exposing a sinister grin. "They will fear your...Wrath."

His body was moving on its own as it did in most tight situations which rarely occurred. His senses were cut off from his mind but he could feel the pressure of something hitting his forearm and the impact of something against his knuckles. He could clearly see everything that was going, but his mind hasn't come back from the suspended state it was in as he slept. He couldn't comprehend what was happening at the moment even though he was responding accordingly.

To bring you up to speed, the events which lead up to this very moment went along in this exact order. The driver of the truck in which Keijiro rode in had noticed that the police were closing the gap between them. But he also saw one specific car that was gaining on them exceedingly. He also noticed Matsuda, crouched over on the hood ready to pounce into the back of the truck. Without having enough time to reach under his chair and grab the prototype Testament gun that they packed with them to exchange at the deal. The passenger Mishima mobster awoke Keijiro moments before Matsuda leapt from the hood of the police car into the back of the Mishima truck. Keijiro jumped up from his sleeping position and they instantly engaged in a spectacle of martial arts within the back of a moving vehicle. As unusual and disturbing these chain of events sound, it has happened multiple times between these two individuals even though they have never spent the time to look each other in the eye or even recognize the others facial features.

It took a second for everything to come into focus and for Keijiro to be able to realize exactly what was going on. He shifted his body to the left avoiding a punch by Matsuda and used the momentum of moving back into his original place to drive a left hook into Matsuda's ribs. But the police officer pulled his own arm back and blocked the blow using his elbow before extending it out to place the back of his hand directly in Keijiro temple. The Mishima ducked down lower avoiding the punch and used his right hand to land a fist into Matsuda's chest, but once again the officer blocked and countered, also to be avoided and have an attack back at him.

As the two fought onboard of a truck, the senior officer kept close behind the truck in case anything happened in the Mishima's favor. he continuously repeated the phrase 'what the fuck, what the fuck' to his self as he watched Matsuda and Keijiro fight. So the two vehicles eventually passed over the bridge and was now speeding through the Rich district. By coincidence, they drove past two individuals walking together on the sidewalk going in the same direction. Two other 'Corrupted' that have yet to realize their destinies and carried on with their lives.

The two on the sidewalk were foreigners to Japan but in Megiddo, another part of societies normal population. The male of the two was the seventeen year old, high school student from Italy named Andrea Salvatore Alighieri the VII, a blonde haired boy with an expensive outfit made from leather, the heir to a very successful business. The female was the daughter of a European scientist and an American mother named Rosalina Munroe, a red-head that wore an equally red dress. At this moment, they were walking together because of Andrea's urge to explore Megiddo which he recently arrived in, and Rosalina deciding that she may be able to get something out of being friends with this new person.

"If that type of behavior is common here, I'd rather not stay too long." Andrea said in Japanese because of it being the only common language both him and Rosalina understood together. His disapproving tone was heavily accented along with his disgust of the behavior of the two people on the truck that he believed were acting out a scene from a Hong-Kong martial arts movie. Rosalina saw the strange way the two were behaving and moving along with the serious faces of the two drivers and the passenger of the truck. Yet she still agreed with Andrea.

"This never happened before, but I haven't been among the other districts often. I used to think this section had decency until now." She said mimicking Andrea's tone to perfection and causing him to believe that she completely agreed. She looked over at him and saw his twisted expression that simply glowed with a sickened disapproval. Andrea seemed like the type of person that leads his friends to gold just so they look at him with praise, and Rosalina didn't see a problem. She crossed her arms over her rather large chest and played along perfectly. "But once again, it might just be the people from the lower-class districts."

"True, the less fortunate tend to be uncultured." Andrea said with a cold tone of honesty that hurt Rosalina even though she wasn't included. Andrea had an air of superiority that surrounded him, his presence was like standing next to a soon-to-be crowned king. Rosalina herself had something close to the same presence, even though she specifically seemed to pull upon others emotions. The pair walked down the sidewalk on a one-way trail to meet fate, but there was still more to come.

In the distance behind them was a strange individual, known to most by multiple names. Some call him things such as thief, bastard, petty criminal, and such. While others refer to him as a nice young man, swell lad, and a gentleman. Although out of all those names and the ones not mentioned, he prefers to be referred to as the Selfish/Urban Robin Hood, or Knives. His real name has been unmentioned to all except his closest relatives, and even they mostly call him Knives. But his name isn't what's important, it is the Selfish/Urban Robin Hood part that is.

For you see, it wasn't strange to see a very fortunate person walking down the night streets alone. They are usually returning home from a random swingers party around the block or doing a late-night jog. Knives always wondered why they continued to venture out in the dark even when there have been recent reports of a thief/Robin Hood doing business in the dark, but he never complained. He never considered himself a criminal, it was simply taking from the greedy and giving to the needy, specifically, his self.

He was dressed in a black coat, blue jeans, and a hoodie with a skull on the front. Simple and basic clothing, nothing expensive even though most of it was bought with money from the people that can afford such expensive attire. But the details isn't what he was planning on working out, it was staying a good distance behind the two he was trailing. He recently finished... exploring the home of another fortunate-to-be-rich-yet-unfortunate-to-be-robbed group of people. It was ironic, actually.

The house Knives had robbed was owned by a Mr. and Ms. Oboro, who recently put their daughter, Hikari, on punishment. The stubborn and spoiled Hikari decided that she should be allowed to stay up late anyways and snuck out of her room to watch TV... That was until she noticed Knives stealing things from her house and escaping through the window. She decides to take up two rather large butcher knives, clad in a black hooded sweater with black sweat pants and follow Robin Hood home so she can steal back her belongings and more and possibly do away with said Robin Hood. But the ironic factor of this all isn't that a thief is being followed by a victim, it's that the thief and victim are both, also two other "Corrupted". Another pair that will be dragged into a chain of events.

While all these things happen, the one person who doesn't witness any of the original instances, is enduring their own. This is the sad piece of the story that involves Kaname Iwatari, a girl whose life has been ruined since the beginning. She runs through the streets at this moment with her eyes leaking tears and not going in any specific direction to any one location. How long she's been running and exactly how far is unknown, but she has made her way from her home in the Poor District to the Rich District, a few miles away. Amazing, isn't it. Today should've been a joyous day, actually, seeing as how it's her father and late-mothers anniversary.

Sadly, she returned home to find a drunken father with another woman engaging fairly promiscuous acts. She always knew her father was now seeing multiple other women, trying to find another to replace her mother. But his recent habits of binge drinking, smoking, drug-abuse, depression, gambling, and over-bearing rules for his daughter has caused him to meet the worst type of women. This wasn't the first time this happened, but on this specific night. She couldn't handle the stress as normal and left silently without anyone knowing she ever returned home, still in her school outfit.

As strange, sad, and awkward of a story of that was. The one thing running through her mind wasn't blaming her father for forgetting, or it wasn't questioning why her mother had to die. But the only words that went through her head was two simple words that most children learn before the age of seven, "Why me". She completely missed all of the other events that the six other "Corrupted" were going through and ignored all the other things around her. She ran in a blind... confusion if you wish to say it as such. Barely avoiding traffic and almost being hit by cars in multiple incidents.

But as all the "Corrupted" carry on with their business. One small detail that none of them have realized is that they all recently had a dream similar to the one that Keijiro had. Each one saw a different being before, and the being spoke to them. It's destined that the "Corrupted" learn the meaning behind these dreams and they all put it to use. But first, they all find themselves meeting within an abandoned mansion owned by a deranged immortal. They will all discover the secret of the Crimson Estate, at exactly 12:00.

It's currently 11:47, thirteen minutes until they see Paradise.


	3. Sinners Incorporated

The exact details on how the 'Corrupted' arrived within the desolate building varied amongst the individual. Some simply waltzed in, others entered through the opened windows, one individual isn't exactly sure how they entered the building at all. But the results were the same, five students, one Yakuza member, and a police officer, were all in the building at one time, a total of seven 'Corrupted'. The exact time at the moment is 11:55, with only five minutes remaining of their normal lives. Let's examine how the last moments they have to view the world as an average being.

As it seems, Keijiro and Matsuda are having a typical old-western movie shoot-out. The Yakuza Prince leapt across from the couch that he just recently dived behind to escape Matsuda's sights. He bound forward with the Beretta hidden within his coat along with the saber, but in his hands was a prototype Testament Shotgun simply titled, 'Shredder', because of the net of small beads that explode into shrapnel and blades at high speeds, hence the name. After hitting the gray carpet and rolling across, avoiding three bullets, he realized a gun of its size wasn't useful. That little thought resulted in him strapping the weapon to his back, and drawing the two black handguns he was strapped with.

Now, incidentally, Matsuda thought that Keijiro was only armed with the 'Shredder'. So when a barrage of bullets fly his direction and one rips into his right shoulder, he starts to wonder how many guns the kid has. He drops to his left avoiding the other bullet and scrambles behind a statue, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

"Some gun laws Japan has..." Matsuda grumbled to his self as he wondered how the Mishima always had weaponry like a small military force. The thought of how a teenager even got his hands on a prototype weapon of that force left him a little bewildered, until another spray of bullets put holes in the walls by him. Unfortunately, as an officer, Matsuda was only armed with two things. Your basic handgun, and your basic police baton, not enough to fight a Mishima of any class.

"Japan has gun laws?" Matsuda sighed heavily at the question which arose after the gunfire ended. While the two engaged in the gunfight exchanged fire, other people that just happened to be in the building at this very moment for other reasons were handling their own business while looking for the source of the gunshots.

The two foreigners from before, the Italian and the girl of questionable European descent were still with each other. For a short span of time, they cowered behind objects after the gunshots rang throughout the building hoping they wouldn't be a target for stray shots. It took a moment before Andrea realized that the gunfire seemed focused in one area and the room they were in was receiving no sort of damage. He eventually realized it was ok to stand, and rose up proudly, ashamed of his own bout of fear. Rosalina followed as if he gave an order to jump into the middle of crossfire, which is what he actually did do in a sense.

"This can't be the Testament utopia, Megiddo." He said voicing his degrading opinion. Rosalina chose not to respond, or she couldn't because of the constant yelping she made when the gunfire started up again. The room they stood in was apparently a kitchen many years ago, for the curtains lost their original color and the table was covered in a layer of dust which seemed nearly an inch thick. Andrea was personally disgusted by the appearance of the building and decided to have it cleaned sooner or later.

"It sounds like..." Rosalina began before a sudden burst of gunfire rang throughout the building. Her heart raced exceedingly as she imagined the pain of being shot multiple times. It came across her mind that if anything would happen, Andrea seemed like the type that would stand against impossible odds with a sly expression. Something she could eventually use to her advantage. "Mishima." She finished.

"Mishima? Who is that, a murderer?" Andrea asked.

"An organized criminal syndicate, they go by whatever nation their in. In Japan, their a Yakuza." She continued as the bullets stopped and small echoes of shouting were heard.

"Ah, much better. A whole load of murderers." A heavy sarcastic accent in his voice. Taking up the Mishima name was like having an official 'I'm a bad-ass' card issued by Testament Corp. To Andrea, it was the same as regressing back thousands of years and awakening a cave-man. He brushed off his clothing sending the mounds of dust floating away in the air. "The air in here is so stale, let's go and leave the idiots to their fighting."

"Your right." Rosalina agreed as she finally took in a breath of the air. Her lungs felt like they were being drained of all the fluid needed in the human body. Her tongue even felt dried out by the amount of dust that probably covered it with the amount of rapid breathing she's done.

As the two financially fortunate 'Corrupted' continued on with their conversation, not knowing they'd never have the chance. Two others had entered, or stalked the first to enter, into the massive building known as the Crimson Estate. Unknown to the four others who engaged in their activities, the Crimson Estate was complete with three sets of basements.

Knives, better known as the Selfish Robin-Hood, had saw Andrea and Rosalina entering the Crimson Estate and decided that blindly following them was a bad idea. After waiting for them to enter, he made his way to the back of the building and found the cellar doors. He didn't realize how deep the cellars dropped, as he went in without thinking and plummeted down three floors before colliding with a cement bottom. It only took a moment for him to rise up holding his buttocks with one hand and the grip of a rather large, personalized, gun metal, switch blade. Which was happily stolen from a man that seemed to leave his most prized possessions in the open.

"OK, I've descended into the dark depths of a creepy house. This seems like a horror movie." Knives mumbled to his self jokingly as he paced forward with only a small glimmer of moonlight as his guide and the reflection off of his blade. He took a few steps forward slowly trying to make out the outlines of objects, it ended up being fairly difficult to distinguish between the floor and random broken pieces of glass or rusted nails.

He suddenly dropped to the floor as the sounds of gunfire picked up and rang his eardrums. He instinctively drew up the knife in waiting and tuned his senses to judge if the bullets were coming in his direction. If they were, he'd take his chances of being poisoned by rust or cut up by glass then getting shot a few times. But after they repeated for a second, and sounds of a second firearm went off. He realized that there was something else going on up stairs.

"Shit, why does something have to start here." Knives stated as he planned an exit. The way he came in wasn't accessible because of it being at least a ten-foot drop. His only exit, regrettably, was one that was higher up. Which meant he'd be in dangerous territory as long as whoever is shooting is still up there. Another option he had was camping it out in the dark for a little while, if he made a small clearing then it wouldn't of been a problem.

That was until another miniscule problem decided to pop its chubby frame into the picture. Like the others, this problem was another 'Corrupted' albeit considerably younger than the rest of them. This one was a rather short, chunky, seventh-grader dressed in silk sleeping garments. In her attempts to be stealthy, she carefully crawled into the basement doors which Knives fell through and waited behind him. Unfortunately, a thief isn't the easiest of things to sneak up on since their entire operation is based upon stealth. So at the very moment she decided to expose herself and move closer with a butcher knife drawn, Knives noticed her and in one quick maneuver, threw another knife in her direction.

"What the heck is wrong with you, you stupid thief." Hikari yelped as she fell backwards. The knife sank deep into a wooden box which she used as a hiding spot. She quickly rushed upwards and stood with one knife in her hand and the other, away in the darkness. A flustered expression on her face surprised Knives, seeing as how she was the one that was sneaking up on him. He quickly drew a second knife from his assortment and held it firmly. "Throwing a knife at a little girl, your so dumb."

"Dark basement, plus little girl, multiplied by butcher knife, equals horror movie. I knew it." Knives joked which left Hikari with a confused look of disbelief. He settled with the thought that the joke was simply over her head, she settled with the idea that he was crazy. Knives saw her chattering teeth and shaky hands and decided to put some of the pieces together.

Here is a barely dressed little girl running around in the chilling night dressed in silk clothing. Not only that, but she's recently descended to a basement which felt like an ice box since it was so deep in the ground. To add more onto it, the gunfire has probably scared the hell out of her so she's lost some of her nerves. All this goes along with whatever reason she was chasing him. Knives lowered his weapons with a strange smirk on his face as he figured that this child wouldn't of even had the ability to be a threat with all of those factors.

"What are you talking about?" Hikari continued to shout but was cut short as the gunfire started once more. Knives stood up proudly as he figured there was no need to cower, but Hikari instantly dropped to the ground with her hands over her head and screamed. Knives simply raised an eyebrow waiting for her screech to stop, but the shooting halted before she did.

"Oh crap, kid, I think they heard you." Knives said as he turned around and waited to hear any sort of movement. Being on the third basement floor, he wouldn't hear any until the shooters moved down, but the chances of that happening were slim and also risky. Hikari just remained in the fetal position, sadly, she didn't know that the gunshots she heard now would be nothing compared to the ones in the future.

Even though the shooting suddenly halted as Hikari shrieked in fear, it wasn't her scream that stopped the fight. Actually, it was the scream of Kaname Iwatari, the seventh of the 'Corrupted' even though she was the first to arrive at the Crimson estate. During her tear-filled dash away from home, she decided to hide away in a place that which no one would find her in. A massive abandoned mansion was perfect. After hiding away in a corner of a room and being alone to herself, Kaname drifted away into her sleep.

That was until she was suddenly awakened by gunfire as Matsuda and Keijiro entered the room fighting. Confused and afraid, her best option was to wait silently until they stopped fighting or one killed the other. It became something of a living nightmare as she recognized Keijiro as the high-ranked Mishima he was. She was even a witness to the powerful effects of the 'Shredder' as it tore through a couch across the room from her and ripped apart a section of the wall.

She was positioned behind Keijiro, and knew to remain silently out of fear that a Mishima would happily blow away an innocent bystander. Truth be told that Mishima prefer to keep innocence out of the picture but as we all know, accidents happen, some just happen to be fatal. But she didn't know that at the moment so she remained in her corner hoping he didn't notice her hiding behind a piece of wooden furniture.

If Matsuda never decided to get a little brave and dive from his spot spraying bullets in Keijiro's general direction, she may not have been discovered. But he did, and the result was her letting out a loud screech before remembering to remain quiet after two bullets shot through her cover. She covered her mouth quickly as tears started to form in her eyes, she wasn't hit, she just believed that she was going to die.

"Why me?"

"Don't tell me a Mishima just screamed like a girl." Matsuda said without exposing his self once again.

"Funny, dipshit. But it sounds like we have a civilian in here." Keijiro replied back with anger seething in his voice and malice brimming in his eyes. The fact that somebody was stopping his chance to get rid of Matsuda, who's been a thorn in his side for too long, was infuriating. He decided that if it was a female that screamed, he'd put a gun in her face and scare the hell out of her before telling her to leave. If it was male, they'd either be shot dead or beaten until he was satisfied. Yes, Keijiro had some issue with hitting women, although he'd happily shoot at police.

Keijiro kept his back against the whatever he was hiding behind and looked at the large dresser before him. At the very bottom, he saw the reflection of a sneaker off of a small chip from a broken mirror. The shoe moved back and a green iris shifted down and looked directly into the multi-colored ruby-and-golden eyes of Keijiro. Kaname held her breath as she saw Keijiro looking directly at her, in her eyes, it was all over.

........

.................

........

12:00

"It's time... Come, Apsynthion."

Keijiro leaned forward and lifted upwards with the multiple ways of dealing with the situation in mind. Matsuda raised up from his spot and put away his weapon, his experience with Mishima allowed him to know that they choose not to fight with civilians around. Apparently, it was something like a code of honor, even crime syndicates had them.

Matsuda pulled out a cigarette and took a long drag knowing this was his last until he could finish off this problem. He didn't trust Keijiro, but he was pretty sure whoever the other person was, they were at least partially safe. With a quick spin on his heel, he turned around and paced towards the window behind him. The smoke drifted through his lips and disappeared in the air.

Suddenly, as if it was waiting for the perfect moment. Matsuda saw the Testament Corp. tower suddenly light up. A red beam launched into the air creating a noise that sounded like a shotgun being blown into everyone's ear, inches from their head was heard by the Corrupted. Matsuda's smoke dropped to the ground as his mouth gaped open, Keijiro spun around instantly expecting Matsuda to respond. But he saw the beacon of blood-red light that the massive tower had become.

The blast arched upwards like lightning, splitting open the clouds and racing into the stars. Keijiro was able to mumble the words 'what the fuck' in English as he took hastened step towards the window. Kaname covered her head with her hands afraid of the sound and wondering if the Mishima left. But her eyes slowly opened as she noticed the unnatural hue the room had taken. Beneath her feet, a dark red line raced across the ground like cracks in glass. Keijiro and Matsuda looked into the sky and watched as it shattered, unknowing of the same event under their feet. Their view of the Testament Corp. tower was slowly blocked as the window turned to the color of blood.

"What the..." Knives shouted as the floor began to shatter. Hikari gasped heavily as the room began to illuminate in the crimson color and the cracks spread from the ground to the walls and ceilings. Her eyes grew wide when she looked up and saw that everything above her was changed into a broken mirror. Knives nervously avoided touching the lines although they rapidly split everything.

"It's all glass?" Hikari whispered as one of the lines stretched underneath her. As she spoke those words, Rosalina said the same to Andrea. The foreign duo had left the basement as they saw the fractures in reality and made their way into what seemed like the ballroom. A wide open area, riddled with antique tables and other rather aged objects. The newest additions to the room were the streaks that spread through the walls and tables, passing under the two Corrupted.

Rosalina looked below her feet at what was supposed to be the faded gray carpet, but she noticed a small detail. The fragment beneath her feet, the piece of carpet, had taken up a dark red hue. It's faded color was revitalized into its original state, as well as other pieces throughout the building. It was like a puzzle being placed back together, gradually all of the pieces returned in random spots. She slowly bent over, grazing her hand over the mystically finished carpet and realized that apparently the Estate was changing around them, regaining its former ruby-tinted beauty.

It all happened so quickly, none of them were able to notice how it happened. But at that very moment, within a specific room in the house, a man named Virgil was idly standing. Upon Virgil's face was a childish yet twisted grin, and bright, gleaming eyes that glimmered with innocence. A youthful chuckle escaped from his lips as he walked towards a recently reformed door with a sway in his step.

"Welcome, Sinners Inc." He announced, which echoed throughout the entire estate.

12:01......

Their normal lives just ended....


	4. Coming Together

"You're fucking kidding me." Keijiro mumbled in English as he twirled around in the now blood-tinted room. His grip on the Beretta tightened as Matsuda fell into view, only to realize the law enforcer was as confused as he was. Their eyes fell on each other for a moment, and in that quick glance, they reached a compromise to kill each other once the issue was solved. Whatever this 'issue' may be. "Did you hear that?" he asked returning to Japanese. Matsuda was very poor in English so he ignored the first statement.

"I'm guessing we're Sinners Inc." The grown man stated. He stopped rotating and grazed a hand along the wall. It was like the entire building had been refurbished to take on a blend of crimson hues. His hand jerked back as the sound of Keijiro locking an ammo clip in the Beretta echoed in the now silent room. He tilted his head slightly to see what the Mishima was planning to do.

"Get up." He said as he skillfully twirled the handgun in his fingers. Kaname gasped at the thought of having to face the Mishima or the other person, both of which were heavily armed. Her mind raced through the multitude of deaths she'd experience, she imagined how her blood wouldn't even phase the design on the carpet. Her life would be hopeless, meaningless, nothing she'd done would... "I know you fucking heard me." Keijiro said cutting off her thoughts.

She slowly crawled out from behind the drawer holding her head low. Her eyes were bloodshot from the tears and her hair was sprawled across her face from her hands. Quick breaths occasionally arose as she tried to breath with all of the events going on around her. Keijiro glanced at her quickly and shifted his eyes to Matsuda. The police officer nodded at the Mishima as if to say, 'take it easy on her'.

"There's not point in asking you what's going on, I doubt you know anymore than I do." Keijiro stated as he slid the two handguns in his coat. He flipped out a submachine gun quickly and began to adjust the safety features for any reason whatsoever. At this point, they had no clue as to why or how anything is happening. Kaname eyed the guns with a expression of curiosity and fear. Every click and pop caused her to flinch backwards. "You decide what your going to do. Apparently, there's someone in here that thinks we are Sinners Inc., I'm going to find this person." Keijiro said as a handgun spun between his fingers.

"I don't care about you, I'll stay with the civvy." Matsuda said referring to Kaname as the civilian. She looked at him nervously and he sighed before flipping out his police badge. Her racked nerves calmed in what could be called less than one percent, but it was enough to keep her from hyper-ventilating like she has been. Kaname could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her thoughts were moving so quickly it wasn't possible to keep them under control. "A student from Nirvana High, what are you doing in a place like this?"

"I'm....I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come here. I didn't know where I was going and..." Kaname began to rant on unable to complete any of the sentences she started. Sadly, her explanation on why she was there left Matsuda with more questions than before. He decided to use a secret police technique and nod his head while acting like he understands until she stops herself. She abruptly stopped talking and started to rapidly breath as if the air in the room was moving away from her. The officer just started to wonder whether he should have left with the Mishima.

Unfortunately, the thought came too late as they heard the door to the room slam. The Yakuza Prince left knowing Matsuda was more suited to working with her than he was. He cared more about what is going on and who was the source of that voice. Armed with an array of firearms, he paced down the halls keeping his eyes open and using his senses to detect anything. It suddenly occurred to him that he still had a designed machete tucked away in his coat, he decided to remember to use it if needed.

"Hey there, how's it hanging?" Keijiro quickly spun around aiming the submachine gun into between the eyes of a stranger. His breath stopped as he stared into the face of a man that obviously had some kind of idea on what is going on. It was an easy fact to figure out judging by the light red vest, white collared shirt, and matching red pants. This man stood before Keijiro with a childish grin on his face and a gleam in his eye. "I'm Vergil, and you're Wrath."

"What the..."

"Follow me, we have to find the rest before they get any bright ideas and go outside. I already introduced myself to Envy and Sloth. They'll be waiting for us in my office, but you're different so I need you to come with me." Keijiro looked at Vergil with a perplexed expression as he just waltzed his way past the Mishima and started down the hall. He came to the conclusion that Envy and Sloth were that girl and the cop, he was apparently Wrath. He tightened his grip on the gun and lowered it walking behind Vergil but keeping a good amount of distance. "Hurry, we don't have all day... Well, actually, we do... But that's because time doesn't pass in this realm, so I guess we do have all day, and night if you want to look at it that way." Keijiro listened quietly as Vergil started rambling on about time distortions and the way old T.V. shows depicted time machines in such fashions.

"What the fuck are you talking about. I need answers." Vergil was about half-way to turning around before he felt a tight grip on his shoulder. In a moment, Keijiro slammed Vergil against the wall and wrapped the fingers of his left hand around his neck. Vergil shrieked like a little girl would when he felt his feet leaving the floor as 'Wrath' held him off the ground. "I don't know who or what you are, but I'm pretty sure you can die. So answer the question you freak, where the hell am I?"

"You said it."

"What?"

"Where the _Hell_ are you."

"That's not funny."

"It wasn't a joke."

There was an awkward moment of silence as Keijiro took in the thought. Vergil just remained silent as he was held in the air and tapped Keijiro's arm as a signal to let go. The Mishima stared him in the eye for a quick second before deciding to let him drop to the ground and gasp for air.

"Well, it's not exactly Hell. It's actually the opposite in a sense. We are in Paradise, the Angelic Realm, but if you want to get even more specific. This is my home, the Crimson Estate. Which brings up the question on why and how you're here." Vergil rose to his feet and continued to walk as if nothing happened. Keijiro paused for a second and watched Virgil move away, an impulse told him to just blow a few bullets into the bastard and solve the problem. But common sense won over telling him that its not a good idea to kill the only guy that has at least any clue on what is going on. "Sorry to tell you this but to find this kind of stuff out, it seems like you and your friends are going to have to go outside."

"What's outside?" Keijiro asked as Vergil started his way down a set of stairs. He looked down the spiraling floors and began to wonder how far down this building went. The possibility that the entire structure of the building was reformed when they 'crossed over', came to mind. He looked up from the descent and to the silver haired man before him, it was officially a rough day.

"I'm not really sure what word can be applied to them, you see, its a complex system of emotion, the soul, current events in the Natural World, and the personal ambition of those with power that form these creatures. I guess seeing as how we currently stand within Paradise, you could call them Angels." Vergil explained with a casual tone. He abruptly stopped the conversation as he opened a door along the spiraling stairs and shouted into what seemed like a kitchen. "Lust, Pride, its time to work guys. Come on."

"Who the hell was that?"

"Its that voice from before."

"Over here, by the stairs." Vergil continued to say. Keijiro walked next to him and looked into the room with curiosity. It took only a second before Andrea and Rosalina had made their way into the their vision and stared. There was a moment of awkward silence as the foreigners switched from watching the Mishima and the man with a childish grin spread across his face. "See, told you there was more. Greed and Gluttony are in the basement so we have to step a little faster." Vergil stated while making a pinching movement with his fingers before stepping away.

"Just follow." Keijiro said as he noticed their dumbfounded stares while shaking his head. With a quick turn on his heels he trailed behind the deranged man with a blend of curiosity, confusion, and desperation. After traveling down a small amount, he heard a second set of steps from behind him. With his trained hearing, he heard the male of the two say something along the lines of "the brute on the truck" with a heavy accent. Nature told him to reach behind his back and grab the Machete which he reminded his self to use but the gasps and sudden silence worked.

"This is a really unique group, none of you seem to have anything in common. We have law enforcement, students, mobsters, foreigners, I wonder what Greed and Gluttony are. How about you Wrath?" Vergil started to sway from side to side holding his arms up and making low noises like he was a plane. The three behind him started to ponder on if they were following a psychopath or something else, in Keijiro's harsh words a 'retard'.

"It's Keijiro you dumb fuck."

"Oh my god, Keijiro Mishima." Rosalina exclaimed surprised. Andrea saw the expression on her face then did a double-check on the Mishima. A light-brown skin tone, rubies in exchange for eye color, and black hair slicked backwards. It wasn't an appearance that was easy to forget. "He's one of the high ranked Mishima, there's a rumor that he's the son of Kotaro, the Mishima Head." Rosalina whispered in the ear of Andre, she could have just said it out loud since the silence made her whisper amplified. Keijiro was used to having whispering behind his back, so he could easily ignore it.

But here is the beginning of a problem that will carry on throughout this adventure.

"Huh, I guess we can expect the same from the rest of his family." Vergil continued on his mental adventures in his plane before realizing the movement behind him ceased. He paused for a moment then spun around quickly to come across the sight of Keijiro bringing down the Machete on Andre who fell backwards to avoid the attack. Rosalina screamed and backed up against the wall as a small spray of blood arched upwards. Andre's reflexes saved his life, but weren't able to avoid the tip of the blade as it sliced through his left shoulder.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Andre shouted as a metallic piece came into the view of all to see. He was intelligent enough to know that when leaving his home in the middle of the night in a new area, to always keep a reliable companion. In his eyes, a Smith & Wesson Model 500 with the ability to hold five bullets and two boxes of ammo were the three companions suited for the job. As his body collided with the stairs, he instinctively pulled the trigger.

And here is an occurrence that will change their view on the World.

Keijiro tilted to his right avoiding the direction of the barrel before it was even fired. But the sudden shriek that came after the bullet was fired caused the entire scuffle to end. Rosalina was the unfortunate witness of Keijiro cutting Andrea's shoulder, and Andrea accidentally shooting Vergil in the back...

Once again, the awkward silence is confusion and disbelief was heard. Keijiro stood up and looked back and watched as Vergil rolled down countless steps before suddenly stopping. Andrea remained on the ground, his hand shaking with the belief that he just murdered some one. But a key word in that statement was the thought that he 'believed' he had killed Vergil.

Immortals can never die.

But Knives can be scared.

"Oh hell no." Knives stated as he opened the door to see a man roll down the steps after getting shot in the back. The trio that were fighting on the steps quickly shifted their gaze from Vergil to Knives. Sadly, in Knives opinion, it looked like three deranged murderers finding their next target after stealthily killing an old man. Silently and slowly, he closed the door and locked it.

"What was that?" Hikari shouted from within the room Knives locked them in. Keijiro leapt down from his position on the staircase and landed next to Vergil as he sat up holding his back in a similar fashion as an old man. Rosalina finally came back to her senses and attempted to go down the steps quickly but tripped on the bottom few colliding into Keijiro. Andrea just laid on the red carpeted stairs gasping heavily and holding his wounded shoulder.

"Why did you shoot me?" Vergil whined.

"Get off me!" Keijiro shouted

"I tripped." Rosalina explained.

"I was trying to shoot him." Andrea responded to Vergil.

"Well fuck you too then!" Keijiro hollered at Andrea.

"You tried to cut me!" Andrea continued to say but was interrupted

"That doesn't mean you have to shoot me." Vergil complained while holding his aching back.

"Why the hell are you still on my back!" Keijiro returned to Rosalina who was fixing her clothes.

"I'm sorry but these clothes are expensive." Rosalina grumbled under her breath.

"You're weird." Vergil said as he watched her.

"I'm weird, you were just shot in the back and you're fine." She said standing up.

"For serial killers, they don't sound organized." With that said by Knives and the realization that Vergil was fine. The groups attention returned to the two that locked themselves away and had witnessed an accident of disturbing proportion. There was a moment not of silence, but of thought as they all attempted to think of explanations and ideas.

They all had one goal, it was apparent that by Vergil's explanation of the group. These two, the three outside the door, and the two upstairs, a total of seven, were needed for something. So at this moment, being thought of as 'unorganized serial killers' wasn't the best way to pull a group together. The three had their own ideas, Andrea considered attempting to persuade them into coming, Rosalina would use motherly charm on the child and seduce Knives, Keijiro was just going to blow the whole damn door down and tell them to hurry up.

"You can stay in there as long as you please, but if you'd like to know what's going on. I'll be upstairs." Vergil stated and with that, walked away...


	5. Sin in the Air

It was something of a moment of truth in a strange sense, the "Corrupted" stood in the office room awkwardly. A disorganized and rather ragtag group comprised of only a few of the countless roles in the Megiddo society. Vergil was plotted in his seat with an intense and bright, toothy grin. His eyes shifting to the six students and police officer that made up the only living things in the realm that they were in now, as far as they know at least. It could be said that the vibes in the room were bad, but not a single person could really catch a grip on reality enough to understand how these supposed vibes felt in the first place.

"Now, let's get started." Vergil said clapping excitedly. The room they were in was blocked from all light outdoors, no windows or doors leading to the world. It was oval in shape, on the far side from the entrance was Vergil sitting behind a massive desk which contrasted the room with an octagonal form. Behind him, the walls were covered in bookshelves. The books were ancient and preserved by the supernatural, Matsuda swore he could probably find the first ever bible printed in it.

"Get started on-" Knives began to say before instantly being cut off by Vergil.

"Greed! You, your Greed." Vergil shouted pointing his finger at Knives with a gleam in his eye. Knives' face distorted momentarily in confusion, he glanced down at the only person he had any prior relation with, Hikari. Vergil noticed the eye contact. "Gluttony, that's you little one." Hikari looked almost offended.

"Your envy, do you feel rather envious..." He said locking eyes with Kaname, she stepped backwards and slid behind Matsuda. "Just my opinion but I wouldn't hide behind someone titled Sloth, chances are, he's not going to help you." Matsuda raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath on the cigarette on his lips. It was the only thing keeping his nerves under control, he really didn't understand what kids these days got themselves in to.

"This isn't making sense." Rosalina mumbled.

"Lust was never supposed to very intelligent so I don't think you understanding would make much of a difference." She gasped slightly and stepped forward about to open her mouth after being what she considered insulted. Vergil smile grew as he leapt on top of the desk before him and slid across it like a water slide. Rosalina stepped back when he came to a sudden halt at the end of the desk with his head perched up by both hands. "I wonder why your called Lust, of all things."

"I-"

"Pride, that's who you are. Pride... I think its rather fitting." Andre stopped as Vergil caught his statement not even seconds before it started. Like the rest of them, he felt some kind of inner warmth when he heard his title. It was a familiar feeling, like it was his first time meeting his self in the mirror. Not a feeling he had never felt before, but one that new all on its own. "And you..."

"Wrath." Keijiro stated as Vergil rolled on his back on the desk. Vergil's massive smile shrunk and left off at a small smirk, one that had more of an attitude behind it. The awkward silence that they were beginning to grow used to had returned. Vergil stuck his legs in the air and began to peddle with them as if he was on a bike. "I think we all had the dreams." The Corrupted took in this last statement as they all knew it was true. "Now what? Explain...everything." Keijiro said pulling out the handguns he had and pointed the barrel directly between Virgil's eyes.

"When you first came here, I welcomed you all as Sinners Inc. Now you know why." Vergil shifted backwards and lifted upwards in a position that would break the normal humans back. He twirled around and stepped forward, going off the table and landing in front Keijiro. "You are called many things, the Corrupted by the angels, Sinners Inc. by the more modern beings, or the Sins by others." Vergil stepped backwards from Keijiro and took a seat on the desk.

"Your presence in the Underworld tells one thing, its impossible to explain in a human language, but it can be summed up as the very fabrics of existence are in danger. A spiritual power so great has come and it has the will to create its own reasoning in the world. You represent the power of humanity, a naturally sadistic and self-destructive species capable of great things." Vergil said with a cold expression on his face.

"Oh my god..." Kaname muttered holding back tears.

"God... is a general word. It is not a name but a title. The Underworld is a realm molded around the spiritual power of Gaia, or your realm. "God" or better known as the Inexistent Creator, has direct power in this realm. We are currently standing in his sphere of influence, Paradise. Once you leave the Crimson Estate, you leave my protection and so I can't follow you."

"So the answers are outside..." Hikari groaned as she began to catch on. She wasn't able to comprehend a majority of what was said, but the little bit that she did catch wasn't pleasant.

Kaname could be heard gently sobbing, Knives was agitatedly rubbing his face which was hidden under his hood. Rosalina seemed to be hyperventilating, Matsuda was burning through cigarettes in seconds with shaking hands. Andre just stood silent and dumbfounded trying his best to keep hold on everything that was said. Keijiro just stood there silently, not a single expression on his face, listening.

"I've done what I can, I provided you an entrance into here and all the information I could give." Vergil's emotionless tone and face were a perfect match. It was like the unusual man from before disappeared as he switched into a mood that had no social skills. "Everything else you must find on your own, it will be dangerous and painful. You will witness things that will push you to the limits. But that is what you must do."

"No......" Kaname whispered.

"No, this...."

"No, I didn't want this! I never asked to save anyone, I can't...I'm not...No!"

This was the beginning of a problem. All of them were wrapped up in themselves trying to cope with the info in their own ways. Not a single one of them had noticed Kaname's tears streaming furiously and her breath quickening to a dangerous pace. They couldn't hear how hard and fast her heart was pounding and the thoughts that were going through her mind so rapidly that it left her empty. They also hadn't noticed the small steps she took backwards closer to the door.

"I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to die!" As sudden as the outburst was that had awoke them all from the trance they were suspended in. The slam of the door as she ran down the hall called them back to action. Still dazed from being suddenly brought back to his sense, Matsuda glanced quickly at Keijiro who had his eyes on him. They nodded to each other agreeing to move.

"What the hell." Andrea shouted as Keijiro darted out the door behind Kaname and Matsuda drew his gun following behind. "Shit, lets go!" Andrea said looking back at the rest that remained in the room. Hikari stepped back, surprised and afraid of his reaction. Knives stepped forward.

"Let's go? What the fuck do you mean by, "let's go"? Did you not just hear what this guy-"

"Vergil." Vergil said correcting Knives.

"Vergil, just said." Knives picked up where he left off and continued. " There are things outside we don't understand and we don't need to be running out there without a clue on what the fuck is going on." Knives argued. Rosalina moved over to comfort Hikari, who out of fear covered her ears and began to cry silently. Andrea taken by surprise, felt enraged by the fact that they refused to listen.

"Did you not just see the other three, we have to go now. Who knows what will happen without us out there." Andrea argued back raising his voice. Vergil stood quietly realizing an issue that presented itself and will hold them down until the end of time. The corrupted must learn to get along first before they can work as a team on anything. Using the powers that have yet to be explained, he felt the presence of Kaname, Matsuda, and Keijiro. But it was only for a second, as Kaname in her confusion took a wrong turn and dashed directly outside.

"Yeah, that was the other three and if you hadn't noticed. One of them wasn't in her right mind, another one was a police officer, and the last one was a trained killer for Christ's sake. I think they can handle themselves seeing as how most of them are armed, unlike us." Knives responded by pulling out the blades he had hidden on him. He was trying to say that his weapons were nothing compared to the guns that Matsuda and Keijiro had. It was true, Matsuda was trained and Keijiro was strapped with two handguns. Andrea took a moment to think.

"Then we're just going to stand around here?" Andrea hissed back pulling back his coat to show the revolver and box of ammo in his pocket. It was something, but it wasn't nearly enough for all of them. Vergil remained quiet and slowly walked back to the chair behind the desk. Rosalina looked up from Hikari and watched silently, waiting for the next move. "We have to go sometime, we'll give it some time first. But we have to leave eventually." Andrea stepped back and walked to his corner in the room and dropped down in a chair.

"What the fuck happened..." Keijiro muttered silently. They had lost Kaname, but they had left the Crimson Estate's grounds and went out the front gate. As they ran, they noticed the full moon hanging in the sky with what seemed like an unnatural glow. The air grew into a dry cold and they noticed how it only grew colder the farther in they ran. The slowed to a quickened walk as they noticed the dramatic change of their surroundings once they left the Crimson Estate.

It was like everything had turned into ice, or a frozen glass. Lamp posts, cars, benches. had become transparent as if the world was nothing but a detailed ice sculpture. A gentle layer of snow covered the ground and never seemed to increase even though it never ceased to fall. It didn't even feel as cold as it needed to be to have snow, the chill was so slight it was barely noticeable. Matsuda tightened his grip on his gun and held it low, they both heard it.

A faint sound in the distance, it echoed through the streets.

"A helicopter? No, that's a flag." Matsuda whispered.

"I think those are wings..." Keijiro responded as the beating grew faster. Their eyes scanned the air but the skies were empty. The beating became more rapid, not the speed increasing, but the amount of wings grew. The pair stopped their movement and froze, Matsuda raised the gun and pointed in different directions. Keijiro drew both guns and put them to his sides. "When we find that girl, I'm going to kill her."

"Don't say that, your probably not the only thing that's thinking it." Keijiro chuckled slightly. "And god knows what's out here." Matsuda finished.

"It's not god remember, its the Inexistent Creator." Keijiro replied. There nerves were kept calm by a mix of adrenaline and the fact that they had just gone full-circle with fear and shock, reaching a point where they weren't much of either anymore. But once again, their thoughts were wrecked by an unexpected even. A chilling scream that rang out, a females voice so it could have only been Kaname. "Shit." Keijiro grumbled as he realized that they weren't far from her.

"Those things weren't after us." Matsuda announced.

Kaname stood frozen in place with her eyes in the air. She wasn't sure what to do, say, or even think. Her knees went limp and she dropped to the ground trembling. "Why, me. I didn't do anything, I didn't ask for this." She thought out loud. Her voice cracked in between the words. She tried to slide backwards when she noticed the things in the air moving in closer. "Why." She whispered before her mind reached its capacity and forced her body to automatically shut down.

They were called Angels, the reigning beings in the Underworld realm of Paradise. Winged creatures that were clothed in robes that were made of white feathers. Their faces were hidden under white masks made of a porcelain material with no features on them besides golden stripes that formed a cross and the holes for their eyes which displayed their white pupils. No skin was displayed, their bodies covered in feathers or armor. In their hands were spears and swords, each one reflecting light brilliantly.

"This human, no, this is a demon." One of the angels said as it lowered to the ground. They spoke in a language of high pitched, screeching noises, similar to that of small birds. Kaname laid on the ground motionless, and even if she was awake, she wouldn't have been able to understand what they had said about her. "I can smell it inside of her."

"Humans are an unstable species, they have power that can fluctuate on its alignment. Things that unpredictable should be eradicated." Another angel wielding a spear responded descending behind the other. The weapons of the angels were made of the same crystalline material that made up the rest of Paradise. Their feet, or talons, touched the ground and they proceeded at a casual pace towards Kaname.

"We must hurry, I can smell more of these... humans coming." The first angel drew his sword and paced towards Kaname. It placed his foot on her stomach and slowly lowered the blade to her throat. Deciding to take off her head in one swift strike, he brought the blade up over his head and gripped it with his left hand to prevent all accidents. Before the blade went past the angels chin, two noises rang out breaking the silence.

The angel that held the sword over Kaname jerked forward twice as two bullets were placed into its back. A clear, thick fluid similar to water leaked out from the wounds in its lower back and shoulder. It stood up, correcting its posture and stepped off from Kaname, turning to face the source of the attack. It's eyes landed on Matsuda holding his head down at Keijiro who supposedly overreacted and took the shots.

"Humans, you dare raise your weapons against us." The angel wielding the spear said. Matsuda and Keijiro looked at each other with a look of pure confusion. The one thing they didn't expect to find in this world was a language barrier. The chirping noises that were slightly muffled by the masks on the angels faces were noises no human could accurately make. Matsuda raised his gun and pointed it at the second angel while Keijiro kept both guns on the first.

"I have so many questions at the moment." Matsuda whispered to Keijiro.

"Shoot first, think later." Keijiro said.

In the exact moment he finished that statement, the second angel spread his wings and dropped to the ground. Matsuda instinctively fired off two rounds, both of which missed. Keijiro moved his right arm and fired at the second angel also, still keeping the gun in his left and his peripheral vision on the first. It used its knees to propel its self forward drawing up the spear in an attempt to put it through Matsuda. The police officer dived to his right and turned back to see the angel standing where he would have been.

"Die." It said raising up the spear to pierce Matsuda. With the spear in its left hand it pointed the tip directly at him. Matsuda looked back at the gun which slid away from him as he jumped and back at the angel knowing he had no time. Fortunately for him, Keijiro avoided the attack also and rolled upon impact with the ground. He quickly twisted around and pulled the trigger on the gun in his right three times. A loud ringing sound was heard, the angel wielding the spear screaming. "Kill the other one." It said to its partner that was preparing to execute Kaname.

Keijiro couldn't understand what he said, but he saw the movement of the first angel the touched down and figured out the idea. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the grip of the gun on his back, something he was hoping he wouldn't have to use in this situation. His next idea was even worse but it was necessary at the moment. The Shredder that was on his back went soaring through the air.

"Old man, catch." He shouted after throwing the shotgun and putting two more bullets into the back of the angel to prevent it from getting in the way. The Shredder flew over its head and past Matsuda, Keijiro didn't really bother being considerate with how much power he put behind the throw. Quickly, Matsuda scrambled to his feet and dived forward. The tips of his fingers touched the grip and the handle and he wrapped the rest of his hands around them instantly hearing the beating wind behind him.

In one swift motion, he spun around before coming into contact with the ground and pointed in the general direction behind him. He pulled the trigger and felt the recoil, realizing why the gun was a prototype. The force pushed the gun backwards and since he wasn't ready, he felt the bones in the finger that pulled the trigger breaking. The butt of the gun pushed against his shoulder pushing him back what felt like two more feet.

What left the barrel wasn't a bullet, but a spray of metal, each bead about the size of a marble. Each one was made to be fragile and spiked so after the gun is fired, they exploded into a heated hail of metal. The angel was only a few feet away from the barrel, so when the shrapnel collided with its chest. It literally flipped backwards landing on the ground with the same fluid pouring out of it, its left wing was ripped out of socket and hung out painfully. The angel screeched out and laid on the ground making erratic movements and attempting to stand. But something about this noise was different, it was a deeper pitch.

"Brother!" The other angel chirped while overpowering Keijiro. They battled sword against machete and handgun. Keijiro jumped backwards avoiding a vertical strike being brought down that would have cut him in half. When his left foot touched the ground, he reached up with his left hand and shot at the angel using the distance to his advantage even though he had already come to the conclusion that the guns they had weren't doing much. The angel used its wings to lift into the air and began to repeat the noise the other was making.

"What the hell are they doing?" Matsuda shouted to Keijiro who was following the angel with his gun and shooting. The clicking noise that came after he fired a few more shots let him know he was out of ammo. He simply tossed that gun and grabbed the second but decided not to waste the ammo. The angel Matsuda had shot with the Shredder eventually got to its feet and continued.

"I don't... Oh." Keijiro began to say but his voice faded out as he looked into the sky and saw four more angels soaring around them in a ring. Matsuda looked up in the air then looked down on his belt, the amount of ammo they both had put together wouldn't help them much. His handgun was broken along with his finger, and the Shredder was unpredictable, the next shot might just blow up the barrel. Keijiro only had a few clips left and a machete. "I think we should-"

"_They will fear your Wrath._" Keijiro heard a voice in his head say. It sounded familiar, like it was his own voice just different. Almost a recording of his own voice but with words he had never spoken before. Sadly, Matsuda had no clue what was going through Keijiro's head. So when he ran backwards to check on Kaname and shouted at Keijiro to run, he didn't no why the Mishima didn't move.

"Fuck!" Keijiro shouted doubling over and dropping to his knees. Matsuda looked up from Kaname and towards Keijiro in confusion. He didn't feel the burning sensation swelling up in Keijiro's arm. He didn't understand how it felt to have a fire in your bones spreading throughout the veins in your right arm and slowly torching the muscles. He couldn't smell the scent of smoldering flesh as Keijiro watched the skin around his arm be burnt away. "What the hell is this!?" Keijiro shouted watching his brown skin being burnt away and showing a black material underneath that was a hybrid of metal and stone.

He could feel the bones in his fingers burning and extending as spiked grew out his knuckles. As strong as he was, he was nearly in tears from the seething pain and grotesque imagery. He opened his hand and looked in his palm, a red neon light glowed from within and he stared in horror and agony. It glowed menacingly and deep inside he could see a flame burning. As he focused on it, the pain grew and it burned more rapidly, but he could feel a sensation that comforted him. It felt like a way to make the pain go away, a method to ending all his problems. He felt a kind of solitude and harmony in a feeling that was nothing but chaos.

"Mishima....?" Matsuda said to his self. The angels were descending now but he was able to see the smoke rising from Keijiro. He stared for a moment before realizing that they were in more danger than ever before. He would've shot at the angels but his trigger finger was broken, he looked down at Kaname stopped realized that this might be the end.

"Wake up!" Matsuda looked up to see Andrea standing coming down one of the streets shooting at the angels in the air. He felt tired and confused, but a hand on his shoulder brought him back to his senses. The officer looked to his left and saw Knives moving past him to grab Kaname and help her stand, seeing as how she was awake just staring in a petrified horror. "You, wake the bloody hell up." Andrea shouted again to Keijiro with Rosalina and Hikari standing behind him in the distance waving to Matsuda, Knives, and Kaname to come to them.

"Kill the injured one." An angel said as it descended directly over Keijiro. Andrea attempted to fire at it but realized that he was out of ammo. He tossed the gun down and dashed forwards, he wasn't really sure what he was doing or what he was going to do. But something in his mind said he wouldn't be able to live with his self with this big of a failure on his mind. He pushed his body to its limits after noticing the angel was much closer to Keijiro than he was.

The explosion, sent Andrea flying backwards. Matsuda, Knives, and Kaname were at a safe distance but they still had to cover themselves from the force that shot out. Hikari and Rosalina watched in surprise as the flames erupted and Andrea flew back past the position he started running in. The fires raged upwards engulfing Keijiro and the Angel that was above him.

Keijiro stood tall with his right arm extended upwards. Covered in the black armor like material on it, and red neon lines that raced from his fingers to his shoulder. His fist collided with the angels mask, and in a display that seemed like it was in slow motion. The mask split open, but not one had time to see what was underneath as Keijiro's fist connected with its face and the power behind it caused the angel to flip backwards and the angels blood to spew out from its neck into the air. The inferno surrounding him died down as he lowered his hand, breathing heavily. The sweat beaded up on Keijiro forehead and his eyes were bloodshot from enduring his arms transformation.

"This is it, this fight's over." Keijiro shouted as he examined his arm. It was replaced by what he considered to be the arm of a demon. Horns jutting out backwards from his elbows and knuckles. His fingers ended in silver claws that extended nearly an inch. The red neon lines emitted the heat that caused the flame, its fuel was the burning sensation he had discovered earlier. That feeling was a collection of his being placed into one thing, it was his anger, his pain, his hatred for his father who only cared for his many sons and daughters as tools to move the Mishima Machine.

He was Wrath.

"Wrath... That crazy fuck-head was right." Keijiro said as he looked back into the air seeing two more angels stop their rotation and arch downwards to come at him. They seemed to move slower now, or was he able to move faster. His entire body felt stronger, lighter, and more durable. His right arm in specific felt like it had something of an organic mechanism that was wired inside of it. He opened his hand looked into his palm once again, the red neon light crystallized into a ruby-like object embedded into his hand.

"Above you!" Hikari shouted. None of them knew that his reflexes were also enhanced.

"I know." He said to his self.

He leapt upwards suddenly when the angel was only a few feet above him reaching with his left hand. His fingers wrapped around the pole of the spear that was extended to harpoon him, using his improved reflexes, he brought his legs upwards, slamming his right leg into the head of the angel. He twirled left pulling the spear out of its hand and pulled his arm backwards, the result was the angels blood spraying into the air when Keijiro left a massive gash just below where the ribs would be.

"Burn." Keijiro spun again once more and placed his foot on the back of the injured angel and used the corpse as a base. He pushed off the body and flew farther upwards, he was at least twelve feet in the air now, towards the angel that stopped and attempted to retreat into the sky as it watched its ally fall. Keijiro rose up to its level and slammed his open hand onto the front of the milky white mask, cracking it. He felt his right arm react to the feelings he had inside. "Burn!" He shouted as a grin grew on his face.

The red neon lines on his arm ignited, sending a flame down from his shoulder into his hand. The red object in his then shot forth a flame that engulfed the angels head, and spread down its body. Keijiro released his grip on it and plummeted to the ground, correcting his self so he would land safely.

"Sinners, that's what they are. Sinners, evil demons in the shape of humans. Retreat." One of the angels said to its remaining two allies. They turned around and used their wings to lift them into the air, retreating. They hadn't expected a battle, only a hunt. "We will return, demons. You have no place in Paradise." It shrieked as it escaped, it was a futile waste of breath since they couldn't understand each other.

As the beating wings became more and more distant, the noise died. There was a silence as the other six corrupted kept their eyes one Keijiro, who was too busy studying his newly transformed right arm to pay attention. He would open his hand, then ignite a small flame inside of it before closing his hand which would have the fire spread around his whole fist. He looked up his arm and felt the bladed horns that stuck out from the back of his hand, his elbow, and his shoulder. He honestly hoped that if he ever had to use this arm again, it wouldn't hurt as much as it did last time. Keijiro kept the flame in his hand and in an instant, slammed his fist into the ground.

The result was a small inferno erupting around him and a large crack splitting in the street. He pulled his hand out of the ground and examined his knuckles, they barely felt the impact from a hit that should have broke his bones. With another idea, more risky than his last, he slammed his left hand into the same spot. Another crack in the ground appeared, not as large as if it was with his right and it also lacked the flames.

"What happened to you?" Keijiro looked back and saw the others standing behind him. All of them paid no attention to anything else but his right arm. Rosalina leaned over and placed her hand on top of his, feeling the difference between skin and whatever had become of his. It was metallic to the touch, and warm. She looked up at him with a curious look, visually asking if it hurt and he just shrugged. "Can you put it away?" She asked.

His arm was once again engulfed in flames, but as they died out and retreated to his pal,. What made his arm what it was before was gone, it returned to its original state. He raised his hand and looked at his palm, it was empty.

"What the hell is going on." Andrea said holding his ribs. The blast from Keijiro first activating his arm was stronger than he would have thought.

"Wait!" Hikari said moving between them and Keijiro. She turned away from the group and face him. "What's your name?" It dawned on everyone that they only knew each other by what Virgil had called them. "I'm Hikari Oboro."

"Keijiro Mishima." He said and looked up at the rest.

"Andrea Salvatore Alighieri the VII." Andrea said as they progressed from right to left.

"Rosalina Munroe."

"Just call me, Knives."

"Matsuda, its easier than officer."

"Kaname, Kaname Iwatari." She said nervously after realizing how much of an apology she owed everyone.

There was a moment of silence.

"I get the feeling we're going to become really good friends by the end of all this." Knives said. He didn't realize how powerful his words were, and how big of a problem their "friendship" will become.


	6. Iblis and the Morning Star

"To summarize everything you just said, we, the Sins, were chosen to travel through the Underworld, which has three levels, and save the world from an enemy powerful enough to endanger it which also means that there is high possibility that it also exists in the Natural World." Matsuda said.

The Crimson Estate is a massive work of architecture. It alone is a three story mansion, with three level basements giving it six floors all together. Entering through the front door takes you to a massive hall, to the immediate left and right of the door are spiraling stairs around a pillar which leads to the upper floors. The first floor consisted of the dining room, main hall, and a trophy room. The second floor was where whoever the inhabitants of the Crimson Estate were at the time slept. The third floor was mostly a massive office.

The corrupted stood in the main hall, some standing, some sitting in chairs, Knives lazily plopped down on a couch. Vergil stood in the center of them all rocking back and forth from his heels to the tips of his toes. His silk like white hair swayed from side to side as he continued on some youthful adventure in his own mind.. Hearing Matsuda's voice, Vergil looked up suddenly and began nodding his head violently in agreement.

"Exactly! I don't know how your going to do that in specific but you get the idea. You guys have to work together and find that out yourself, I'm pretty sure something out there has the answers." Vergil said.

"I'm not sure if you've gone out there, judging by how you act. You don't get out much..." Vergil raised an eyebrow at Knives' statement in confusion. "But that's besides the point, what I'm trying to say is that the things out there don't understand us. They don't speak Japanese, English, or any language to honest."

"I wonder if the Archangels can speak in a human dialect?" Vergil said to his self looking into the air as if the ceiling was supposed to provide some sort of answer. He hadn't noticed all the people in the room glaring at him with a feeling that, for a lack of words able to describe it, will be called annoyance. All of them had the most basic knowledge of the Angelic Hierarchy and they had came to the conclusion that what they encountered were Angels.

Which also tells them that the Archangels are most likely, faster, stronger, smarter, and with more of an understanding about Paradise than they do.

"If you hadn't noticed, we were almost killed out there. I'm not going back out." Knives responded with his face stuffed into a pillow and his hood still covering his head.

Rosalina took note that not a single person had seen Knives' face, it was covered by the massive hood which was held down by two chains attached to his coats zipper. She decided not to cause a problem but kept it in mind.

"Today, no, but soon. It would be a good idea to come back and look for answers some time, with Wr...I.. mean... Keijiro." Vergil said correcting his self as Keijiro glanced at him from the dark corner he stood in. "With his powers awakened, you'll have a chance of surviving. The rest of you also need to discover your own, if you intend on figuring out anything." Everyone had already figured that they each had a skill that would help them.

"Just hope it doesn't burn the fuck out of you." Keijiro stated. It wasn't meant to scare anyone, it was the honest truth from his experience. Eyes switched between watching him and Vergil, neither of which had an answer to if it would hurt them or not. "So what now?" Keijiro asked.

"What do you mean?" Vergil replied tilting his head to the left.

"What do we do now?"

"Who is 'we'?" Andrea retorted with a hint of disapproval in his voice. Keijiro looked at him silently considering his actions and words. "No one else agreed to anything." Andrea continued. His eyes were bloodshot from the rushing emotions and stress, his head ached with a sharp pain from being flung against what should have been the street by Keijiro's explosion. "Your the one with the bloody demon arm, why don't you fucking go out there alone!" Andreas' temper was rapidly growing.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Keijiro shouted back stepping out from his spot and into the open. Andrea stood up from his spot instantly. The rest of them remained silent, unable to work up the emotional or mental stability to stop them. But it was expected , what more would come out of collecting seven strangers and putting them in a life or death situation.

"My problem is that you decided to lead us into battle against whatever the bloody hell is out there. The only person that could possible defend themselves now is you, seeing as how the police officer broke his shooting hand on your gun." His face grew flustered from shouting and he began to turn a dark scarlet color. His hand occasionally moved towards his hip to grab the gun around his waist but that wouldn't have ended in his favor and he knew it. "I don't see why we have to follow you around expecting you to help us if you can't even obey the law.""

"Do you have any better idea, dip-shit."

"Yeah, I actually do."

"Then go ahead, all the attention is on you now. What's Andrea's great fucking plan." Keijiro said. He didn't remember that Andrea had earned the name of Pride for a reason. With that knowledge, Andrea looked at the rest and brought his attention back to Keijiro who took a step back.

"You, we can't trust you or your damn freak-arm. The police officer was our next bet, but I don't think he's capable of leading since he followed you. Unlike you two, I'm willing to take the rest of us out of here and not run out there blindly, like an idiot." Vergil's eyes narrowed as he noticed what he called a fluctuation in power. He could sense it, there was a presence building itself in the Crimson Estate. It was manifesting into something, but it didn't feel hostile like Keijiro's ability. It was agitated, possibly territorial.

"I don't give a shit what happens to any of you or who leads, just stay out of my way." Keijiro argued back to Andrea. He learned how to control the activation of his demonic arm, which had imprinted its name as Iblis in his mind. The flames surrounded his arm and the form it took up once again returned. He ignited the flames in his palm and tightened his fist around it. "With or without Iblis, your nothing in my eyes."

"You had the nerve to name the damned thing." Andreas' shouting grew to a level of screaming. Everyone had begun to take notice of how the situation was escalating beyond control. Rosalina began talking to Hikari and telling her that going to another room would be a good idea while these two vent. "That's exactly why I'm better off."

"You five, come with me. This is getting out of hand." Kaname looked up from her hands at Vergil. Once again, his expression changed altogether. It was the serious demeanor that he had use earlier when explaining their situation. When they had first seen Vergil, he acted like he had never escaped into the outside world. So when he changed, it was a sign that they should listen.

Vergil turned around and took steps towards another room silently. The rest followed in line knowing it was best if they didn't get in between Keijiro and Andrea.

"Did you not hear me, I just said. I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck. Just because you nominated yourself as the boss doesn't mean I have to listen." Neither Keijiro or Andrea had heard the door to another room closing gently. Nor had they noticed that everyone else had left.

"That's exactly why your going to go out there and die, because you don't know when someone is trying to help you. If you stopped your little rebel act and took orders or listened, just maybe you'd be better off." Andrea felt something inside him growing. It pushed his antagonistic drive against Keijiro farther and made it personal. Keijiro also felt the presence inside of Andrea, but he lacked the understanding of his abilities.

To him, his powers were giving him a target to hate, and eventually. Destroy.

"Who gave you the right to judge me." Keijiro ignited the flame in his palm once again.

"He is... Nothing." Andrea heard in his mind. A crisp voice that spoke with authority. It was his own, but it didn't hold the same presence he had. It demanded respect, obedience, it demanded to lead.

"You are...Nothing." Andrea repeated as if he was chanting the words.

"He is... Insignificant."

"You are...Insignificant."

"I am, Pride."

It was rather sudden, but because the rest of the corrupted weren't in the room at the time, they were safe. But also left confused and shocked as a thunderous noise shook them to their cores. They felt the ground vibrating and noticing Vergil's expression change to one that seemed like it was worry. Hikari looked up from Rosalina and back at Vergil hoping he had answers.

"What was that?" She asked.

"They are fighting, on equal terms." Matsuda looked up in shock. He understood instantly.

"That other kid can use his power." He said.

"And the first thing he does with it is fight another person." Kaname said worriedly. The two that had the ability to fight the presence outside were now fighting each other.

"It's too dangerous out there, wait here." Matsuda said. "Can you do anything about this?" He asked Vergil.

"I can, but not now. It's too soon."

"You fucking cunt, I'm going to kill you!" The others looked at each other in confusion. But Matsuda knew exactly what Keijiro had just said since he was the only one fluent in English.

The explosion came from Andrea, who had released the power of the Morning Star, his ability given to him by his pride. It was a manipulation of the light into a form that was charged with kinetic energy. The flash of light that blinded Keijiro also hit him like a truck on the high way. Fortunately, their powers had made them super-human. So Keijiro, who was slammed into the fireplace, felt little pain. But was enraged.

"Can you see me now, Keijiro. Is the Morning Star bright enough to be noticed by the Iblis." Andrea shouted as he raised his hand, manipulating the light particles around it. They grew and formed a white orb in front of his hand, it shot forward like a large beam towards Keijiro. But Andrea's moment wasn't meant to last long.

Keijiro jumped forward slamming his right arm into the blast and sending it upwards into the ceiling. As his left touched the ground, he pushed forward with his right launching towards Andrea. He drew his right arm backwards charging the flame within his palm to engulf his entire fist. Andrea responded by forming a barrier between him and Keijiro by expanding the amount of light between them and forming it into a disk. But like his ego-trip, it was shattered.

"What the-" He yelped as Keijiro's fist shattered his shield like glass and impacted with his ribs. Like Keijiro, his body was also improved but he still felt the pain from the attack and the rise in the heat. He was flung backwards, slamming into a couch and flipping over it as it broke underneath him. "You barbaric idiot!" Andrea shouted as he stood up.

"What I'd like to let you all know, so you won't have to find out in the same way as they are now, is that your bodies are stronger, faster, and as durable as your ability. If, you discover your skill, you'll be improved inside of the Underworlds." Vergil explained to them as they heard the shattering of Andrea's shield and another explosion from Keijiro. "Not all of your abilities will be similar, some of you may have a power that relies on defense, or you may have an ability that is purely offensive like Wrath."

"I don't understand, you make this sound like some kind of game." Rosalina said to Vergil.

"Take Keijiro for example. He uses Iblis, a purely offensive ability that utilizes fire and brute force while improving his physical abilities beyond the rest of you. But Andrea, he manipulates light and charges it with different energies to give it form. He can blend offense and defense, but he can't rely purely on one, so he has to keep a short distance from his enemy." Vergil paused to see if they all understood. Surprisingly, they were paying close attention. So he took in a deep sigh and continued.

"All I'm trying to say is that you guys will need to work as a team. You'll have offensive skills like Iblis, defensive, a mix of the two like the Morning Star, or something entirely different depending on how creative you get." Vergil said deciding to cut short so it didn't sound like a cheap explanation on teaching them how to fight. He was trying to stay away from that since the only evidence he had to what he said was a theory he developed after analyzing both of their abilities.

"So in this situation, Keijiro has an advantage." Rosalina looked back at Kaname with an expression of worry and confusion. Even though they had just learned that working together would help them survive, she hadn't yet learned to accept the Mishima amongst them. Even though she had only known Andrea for only a few hours, she had decided that it was easier to tolerate snobbery than brutality.

"Why?!" She asked.

"Because we're in a house, Andrea doesn't have much distance with walls surrounding him." With that said, Matsuda shifted his gaze back to Vergil who had a look of surprise on his own face. Kaname saw the expression on Rosalina's face, it wasn't one of any kind of worry, but of pure disapproval.

"Is Keijiro going to kill the other guy." Hikari asked Rosalina. It seemed that in these times of stress, Hikari had held Rosalina to an older sister status. It was understandable with Hikari being the youngest and not a single other person in any kind of condition to be able to understand her besides Rosalina.

"No. Vergil, Stop them." Matsuda answered.

Vergil nodded and walked out of the door.

It was a secret that he decided not to announce among the many things he had told them, but Vergil was a powerful being in the Underworld. To be honest, he actually held the ability to hold a God-like status, but he used his in a different way. Most beings that held a God-like ability created their own realms, separate from the rest of existence. But Vergil, he knew that a problem like the one that was occurring would come and some how threaten existence and all things in it.

So he had used his power to create the Crimson Estate, something of a hole in every realm to be created. In the Crimson Estate, he is god, the power of all other beings are bent to his will as long as they stand on its grounds. It is like a tunnel that runs through all the realms, the only way to travel between them all is by his consent and ability. The Underworld, is a term given to Paradise, Purgatory, and the Inferno, three realms that are held in close connection to the Gaia realm, and closer connection to each other.

The reason for this being that the Gods of those realms all began on Gaia, but that isn't a story he is going to tell either.

He knew everything that moved, lived, breathed, or existed in his realm because he allowed it. So when the thought crossed his mind to demonstrate his power to the Corrupted as a glimpse at a possibility of what they may have to battle in the future. He decided to go through with it.


End file.
